LGBT Inequality in Hollywood “Pervasive & Systematic”, Says Report

According to a new report, the inequality for both LGBTpeople and minorities in Hollywood is “pervasive and systemic”.

This is according to a study done by USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, who found that despite recent media attention to equality with hashtags like OscarsSoWhite, very little progress has been made in making the industry more inclusive.

They took details from actors, directors, writers and numerous popular films from each year from 2007 – 2015 and found there was practically no change between the years.

For example, in 2015 32 out of 4370 characters were lesbian, gay or bisexual an increase of 19 characters compared to 2014. In 2015, there was one transgender character, which is an increase from zero the year before.

As for gender equality, 31.4% of speaking roles were given to women, which is pretty much the same as eight years prior. The report also found no change in ethnic diversity either, with roughly 12% being black, five% Latino and 4% percent Asian.

According to the study’s lead author, rofessor Stacy Smith, inequality is a deep rooted problem within Hollywood.

“Whether we’re studying gender, race, ethnicity, LGBT or characters with disabilities, we’re really seeing exclusionary forces leaving out anybody that’s not a straight, white, able-bodied man. Despite all the chatter and all the activism and all the press attention, it’s another year where the status quo has been maintained.”

“When we really drill down the numbers, we see a perpetuation of the same groups getting access to the most visible roles, whether that’s in the director’s chair or on screen, and that continues to be the problem plaguing Hollywood’s hiring practices.”

Professor Smith also called Hollywood “an epicentre of cultural inequality”.

According to the study’s researchers, they will be including characters with disabilities in future reports.